Novak Djokovic vs. Gilles Simon: Score and Reaction from 2016 Australian Open

It was a scare for Novak Djokovic, but the top-ranked player in the world is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after a thrilling five-set win over Gilles Simon in the fourth round on Sunday.

It was a surprising performance by Djokovic, who committed 44 unforced errors through two sets and seemed to have met his equal. Freelance journalist Carole Bouchard shared this thought on the star's unusual form:

Djokovic appeared to take back some of the momentum he lost in a thrilling third set, taking it 6-4, but Simon continued to put the pressure on in the fourth. The Frenchman levelled at 4-4 after Djokovic's return went wide, and Anna Mendoza from BuzzFeed Australia noted how much the crowd was into this epic encounter:

But the key for Simon was not doing anything fancy to win his points. He made Djokovic work at his pace. That's how he was able to not only prolong the match, but tire Djokovic out and force him to earn his way to two deuces in the fourth set and eventually tie the match.

Going into the final stanza, Djokovic had only lost five times when leading 2-1, but no such occurrence had happened since 2010, per ESPN Tennis.

Fatigue and pressure looked to get to Simon by the time Djokovic took a 3-1 lead. Simon began hitting his returns wide, and Djokovic got his second wind. He breezed through the fifth game to take a 4-1 lead.

The excitement did not end, despite Djokovic having a chance to win the match in a thrilling back-and-forth affair in the eighth game. Simon wouldn't go away, and Djokovic wouldn't put him away.

Simon didn't have enough to muster a huge comeback, and Djokovic claimed a spot in the quarterfinals for the ninth straight year. Djokovic will face Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals.

Postgame Reaction

Djokovic was quick to note how much Simon made him work for each point, per the Australian Open:

#AusOpen @AustralianOpen

Djokovic: "Playing someone like Gilles you can expect a lot of rallies. I made a lot of unforced errors. It was physically demanding"